Colorful Flaws
by Dying With A Smile
Summary: Natsume has amnesia and got sent to a mentally-ill hospital. The nurses try to get him to speak about his past, but how can he remember when he had amnesia? But they sent Mikan to get answers from him. Will she succeed or die in the end?
1. Pitch Black: Lost and Lonely

**Title: **Colorful Flaws  
**Author: **Etsuko O. Daikama

**Rating: **T  
**Category: **Romance/Drama  
**Pairing(s): **(Mainly) NxM

**Disclaimer: **The day I become a chimera (which would be a milestone in my life) I still would not own Gakuen Alice. Dang it, I'll have goat hands then.

**Summary: **Natsume has amnesia and got sent to a mentally-ill hospital. The nurses try to get him to speak about his past, but how can he remember when he had amnesia? But they sent Mikan to get answers from him. Will she succeed or die like the other nurses that were appointed to him? NxM

**Notes: **Mikan's (includes Natsume, Hotaru, Ruka, etc.) ages; seventeen. May contain OCCness.

* * *

_Chapter One -- Pitch Black: Lost and Lonely_

_**Eleven Years Ago**_

_"Natsume!" a voice yelled._

_The boy searched for the one who was calling him. "Natsume! Natsume!!" He kept looking everywhere in the crowd and started fighting through it. He shoved through people and people shoved him back. The midnight sky was dark and clouds started to cover the moon up. Rain, unexpectedly, started pour heavily on people's heads. They desperately wished they brought an umbrella._

_"Natsume!" a feminine voice called. "Natsume!"_

_Natsume tried to follow the sound of her voice but fell down. People accidentally kicked him in the face, giving him a nasty bruise. He slowly got up, clinging to anything so he won't fall. "Let go, kid," a scuffy man grouched and shoved his leg so the boy would let go._

_He did, but only because he fell to the cold ground again._

_"I refuse to board that helicopter without my son!" a voice shouted. "Natsume!! Where are you?!"_

_"Onii-chan!" a softer voice shouted. "Onii-chan!"_

_Natsume heard the voices and it sounded so near. He looked around him once again, still on the floor. "Ma'am, please get in the helicopter," an officer said. "We can't afford to lose a family in the middle of the war."_

_"Back off!" the woman yelled at the officer. "I'll die if it means saving my son!"_

_The officers tried pulling her into the helicopter, but she kept fighting back. Tears were falling down her face, but it went unnoticed because it was raining heavily._

_Natsume still didn't know where the voices were coming from. But he was certain that they sounded familiar... like his family was calling out to him. He searched frantically; he wanted to see them again but couldn't find them._

_He was separated from his family because he was scanned over and was noted as "toxicant." So the men who scanned him, shoved him to another area where other people were called "toxicant." But he managed to escape from the proclaimed toxicant crowd and started to searching for his family._

_But why were they scanning people over and saying whether they were toxicated or not; that was unknown to everyone except the top officer who told the other men to scan people._

_Many children were screaming for their parents, wanting to be with them and hoping to never be separated again. But the men refused the offer and kept pushing them back, so they won't get mixed up. Natsume heard the calls again._

_"Onii-chan!"_

_"Natsume!"_

_He got up from the ground, hastily and bumped someone's leg with his head. Natsume covered his forehead with his hand and started rubbing the pain away, glancing upwards to see a man who was pushing a long-haired brunette ahead; Natsume assumed that was his wife._

_But the man who bumped into Natsume stopped and crouched down to the boy's level and asked, "Are you lost, sport?"_

_Natsume looked at him confused; wondering why on earth was a stranger speaking to him. But instead throwing a nasty word like he usually does, he just nodded innocently._

_"Looking for your family?" the older man asked. Natsume nodded once again. The young fellow saw from the corner of his crimson eye that the brunette was staring down at them, shivering slightly from the cold. "I'll help you find them."_

_The older man grabbed Natsume and placed him on his shoulders. "Look around and maybe you'll find them," the man stated._

_Natsume followed the man's order and started searching around._

_"Natsume!" a scream was heard._

_The young lad looked over to his right to find a woman waving her arms to catch his attention. Natsume poked the man's forehead and caught man's attention; he pointed to the direction where his family was located._

_"That's a toxicated child!" a man yelled from the scanners._

_The woman near the helicopter yelled, "There's my son! We'll leave once he comes over!"_

_Officers started running towards Natsume's direction to capture the young toxicant child and pull him into the crowd of toxicant people. Natsume gestured the older man about the officers that was heading over to him. The older man got the message and started walking faster to his family._

_The brunette lady stood there, watching the men intently. They took away someone she loved very much and locked the certain person up. No one was allowed to visit the brunette's loved one. Why? Because that loved one was toxicant with something and was unable to control it._

_No one knows why the government started scanning people and separating them from their loved ones now. Maybe they found out just recently from the brunette's loved one that there was more like the toxicated child._

_The older man who claimed to be "Mr. Sakura," was getting closer and closer to Natsume's family. But from a couple of yards away were five men, shoving people to get to the toxicant child. They were armed with guns in case of an emergency._

_The main officer told them to take guns even if their targets were mostly children; because he said they contain something more dangerous than a gun. But that contained something was no match against the gun since it could never stop it. So the men took their weapons and headed out with them._

_"Stop!" an officer said with a gun pointing at the two men._

_The mother of Natsume screamed, "Don't shoot them!"_

_"You are to give us that toxicant child," the officer said and slowly made his move closer to the men._

_"Don't touch my--" the mother was interrupted when an explosion hit the area. It was as if the explosion came from the ground and blew up, killing everyone in sight._

_Natsume saw the explosion reaching near him and everything blacked out. There was no sound, no feeling, no nothing. It seemed like everything was gone. Vanished. Disappeared. No longer existing..._

_Hours had passed since the explosion and yet everyone around was no longer moving. Days have passed and it has been finally reported on the News that there was an explosion but no one knew what happened, what caused it or anything. They just knew there was an explosion and it may take years to rebuild the once popular area._

_There was a tap... Natsume could feel it. Something soft was hitting against his face and it was causing him to wake up. His hearing was opening and he could hear a soft voice, "Wake up. I know you're alive." He then attempted at fluttering his eyelids open--succeeding, he then saw a bright light hitting against his pupils..._

_**Present Time; Hoopu Hospital**_

"Koko-kun, I'm sorry if you don't like it," Mikan said. "But I'm your nurse for the day."

Kokoroyomi, Mikan's patient, had his arms crossed and looked the other way, not pleased that the fact Mikan was there. He preferred no one, really. All the nurses were either speaking to him with such a sweet voice that it made him sick. Everyone that hated him talked to him that way. He knows, because he remembered his family talking to him like that.

"So why not get started?" Mikan asked and started tapping her pencil against the clipboard that was neatly placed on her lap.

Kokoroyomi looked over at Mikan and _glared _at her. He finally burst, "Just leave!! I don't want anyone around me!"

Mikan sighed and figured it was a time to tease. "You know Anna-chan? The girl with pink hair and blue eyes?"

Kokoroyomi caught on yet stared at her like she grew a goat head. OK, he wouldn't be looking at her confusingly, he would be _laughing_ if he saw her grow a goat head. He knew everyone would and she'll end up crying. That, he wouldn't mind.

"I saw you staring at her yesterday," Mikan said with a beaming smile. "Did you grow an interest in her?"

Kokoroyomi's eye twitched in annoyance. Even if he did grow an interest in the pink-haired girl, he would never admit it. Not aloud, at least.

"I could always talk to Narumi-sensei if he could assign Anna as your new nurse," Mikan said. Kokoroyomi's ears perked up and he grew a small smile at the idea. "But you have to talk to me until noon." His ears and smile faltered to their usual way.

"I know, I know," Mikan said pressing her two hands against the air, her eyes on the ceiling. "You don't want to talk to me, but the only way we could set the plan up is for you to talk to me."

"Fine," Kokoroyomi said with a small sigh and uncrossed his arms, leaning lower into his comfortable seat. "What do you want me to talk about?"

"That's more like it," Mikan said with a smile. "How about that moment when you saw your cousin die before you eyes?"

"Can we not?"

Mikan quirked an eyebrow at him, waiting for him to catch the message and tapped the tip of her pitch black heels against the tiled floor. She stared at him, biting inside her cheek because he was stubbornly uncooperative!

"I refuse to speak about that incident," Kokoroyomi stated so seriously and started to glare at her again.

Mikan threw her hands in the air and stopped tapping her heels. "Fine!" Mikan shouted. "Have a nice talk with Sumire later on!"

"She's fun to tease," Kokoroyomi blurted out and unconsciously snickered about the moments he would tease her and she would get so angry that she was on edge of killing him. Sometimes she would tackle him and try to punch him but Kokoroyomi would laugh like he heard a hilarious joke.

Then he heard Mikan giggle. "Yeah, she is," Mikan said. "I personally call her Permy, but with other patients I have to call her Sumire. It feels kind of weird to say it."

"Then why call her that?" Kokoroyomi asked and caught Mikan's full attention. "Other patients have been calling her that behind her back, even other _hilarious _names." When he meant by 'hilarious,' he meant harsher names than 'Permy.' Names that will make Sumire cry or get all sadistic about.

Mikan was quite surprise hearing Kokoryomi talking so openly. When he entered the hospital, he refused to speak and kept glaring at people who went near him or tried to talk to him. He was seriously unfriendly and bad-tempered. He never cooperated and he still is stubbornly disobedient. But he loosen that trait and became obedient whenever he wanted to but still had his disobedient ways.

Maybe it was the help from all the workers that changed him. Or maybe because he grew a sudden interest in Anna, he opened up a bit more. Whatever it is, it was changing Kokoroyomi, piece-by-piece.

Mikan's blue wristwatch started beeping; indicating it was noon. Mikan checked the time and jotted a few things about Kokoroyomi. "I'll see you tomorrow, Koko-kun," Mikan said and walked to the door.

"_Great..._" Kokoroyomi muttered loud enough for Mikan to hear it, but Mikan ignored it and continued to leave the room. She locked the door once she entered the hallways so he won't escape. It was pretty common at Hoopu Hospital.

Mikan walked down the hallways and before she entered the cafeteria, she called a nurse to escort Kokoroyomi to the patients' cafeteria. It was a cafeteria where only patients and specialized nurses were allowed in. Mikan wasn't counted as a specialized nurse.

The young brunette entered the cafeteria where hired nurses and doctors ate at. They didn't get special food, just averagely-based food. Some spoiled nurses would complain about it and say that they forgot to bring in their lunch again. That was usually Sumire saying that.

Mikan looked around the cafeteria and was--_shocked! _She saw Sumire _eating_ the cafeteria's food _without_ a complaint, just a scowl on her face. She was practically stabbing her plate with her plastic fork!

Famine, Mikan walked to the kitchen to get some food that will fill her empty stomach till dinner. When she believed she had enough food, she walked over to where Sumire was sitting and talk why she was moody. She placed her red tray on the sparkly clean table and scooted her seat backwards so she could sit down.

"Why so moody, Permy?" Mikan asked and started nibbling on her food.

"I thought I told you to quit calling me that," Sumire spat.

Mikan thought for a moment, trying to reminisce their past moments when she called Sumire 'Permy.' "I don't remember," Mikan said honestly.

Sumire looked up from her plate and snarled, "Like it matters."

Mikan quirked a brow and asked, "What's the problem?"

"New patient and it's almost like he has no idea how to speak!" Sumire yelled and slammed her fork against her plate, standing up shortly afterwards. "Yeah, he's handsome-looking and all, but he's just so--ugh!"

Mikan tilted her head, her brow still quirked, trying to comprehend what Sumire was yelling. "He's so... what?" Mikan asked and brought a piece of sushi to her mouth.

"He's so uncooperative," Sumire said and pointed a finger up. "He ignores me, he's quiet and he throws the furniture at me if I try to come an inch close to him!" Now Sumire had four fingers up.

"Throws furniture at you?" Mikan questioned and leaned closer to Sumire.

Sumire placed her hand down and sat her butt on the cushioned chair. She leaned closer to Mikan adding an intense moment like she was narrating a ghost story. She whispered, "And you know what else? I think he carries a match with him or something. Because he started a fire _three_ times."

"A fire?!" Mikan yelled but her mouth got quickly covered by Sumire's hand.

Sumire nodded and continued to whisper, "He was threatening me. He had his hands on fire and kept moving them closer to my face. It was really scary, Sakura."

Mikan gulped the lump that was stuck in her throat when she saw the fear in Sumire's eyes. She sent out a light a shudder, but she mostly blamed that on the air condition in the cafeteria. It was always cold in there for some odd reason.

"I feel sorry for his next nurse," Sumire said. "So how's Koko going for you?" Sumire placed her elbow on the table and placed her chin in the palm of her hand. She seemed she got over the incident that happened to her not too long ago.

"He's been more cooperative lately," Mikan replied. "I think he likes someone."

Sumire's eyes widened and a smile grew on her lips. Ohh, how she loved gossip. "Who?!" Sumire asked and slammed her arm against the table, causing small slapping sound to echo in the rather large cafeteria.

Mikan looked around to see if anyone was eavesdropping and decided to speak, "Anna-chan."

"No way!" Sumire yelled with excitement. This is perfect! Now she's got something to use against Kokoroyomi, although I don't think the young boy would forgive or open up to Mikan again. "Now I _have_ got to talk to him!"

The brunette laughed nervously; maybe sharing a fact wasn't a good idea. It made her feel like she was betraying Kokoroyomi by telling Sumire his secret. He might kill her the next time he sees her; she's not going to be looking forward to that.

"So who are you going to visit next, Sakura?" Sumire asked, calming down a bit.

Mikan looked at her schedule that she was assigned. It always changes for some reason; not that she's complaining or anything. She's quite fine with it, actually.

"Aoi-chan," Mikan answered. "I have to meet with her within thirty-four minutes."

Sumire looked a little sour. "She never talks and always has this dazed expression," Sumire said. "We don't even know her last name."

"Maybe she'll tell us when she starts speaking," Mikan said and pocketed her schedule into her white coat's pocket.

"_If_she ever starts speaking," Sumire said and crossed her arms. She started tipping her chair backwards and looked at the high ceiling. "I don't even know why I settled for this job. It's dangerous and sometimes boring."

"But it's great to meet a new person and gain a new friend," Mikan said, picking her tray up and started heading towards the kitchen. Sumire walked with her shortly afterwards.

"That is, if they ever open up to you," Sumire said and rolled her eyes.

"Just be friendly with them," Mikan said and beamed a smile.

Sumire narrowed her eyes a bit. "Don't you think I tried that?" she asked and her right eye twitched.

"Well, keep being friendly, I'm sure everything will work out for you," Mikan said and placed her tray with all the other dirty trays. "I'm sure everyone here will open up eventually."

"You sure got a lot of confidence, Sakura."

Mikan giggled and nodded. She started heading out of the cafeteria with Sumire by her side. Neither of them talked, it was just their heels clanking against the tiled floor. The two walked to the office and got their clipboards, ready to write anything that will show any change or information about the patient.

The two were getting closer to Kokoroyomi's room, where Sumire next patient was at. When they reached the door, Sumire brought out her keys and unlocked the door.

"Hey Koko--" Sumire stopped when she saw a picture that Kokoroyomi was holding. "What is that?!" She pointed her index finger at it and both her brows were twitching madly while Kokoroyomi was laughing loudly and cheekily.

"It's my butt," Kokoroyomi answered. "I asked a nurse if I can scan it and show it to you."

"You disturbing little creep!" Sumire yelled and tackled him; he was too busy laughing to even notice that he got tackled.

Mikan sighed and closed the door to the room; she brought out her own keys and locked the room. She started heading towards her next patient's room, Aoi. Aoi was always on a bed and never slept. She would look at the ceiling with her usual dazed look and not say a word.

Mikan even brought food for Aoi to see if she'll eat. But the young girl didn't move at all. She continued to lie on the bed and look at the ceiling like she could never get enough of it. The small girl wouldn't even acknowledge Mikan or anything. It was almost as if she was dead.

But she was breathing and she did blink, so that showed she was still alive. Maybe not healthy, but very alive.

_**Eleven Years Ago; Hyuuga Resident**_

_"Onii-chan," a young girl called and grabbed onto her older brother's sleeve. "Okaa-san and Otou-san said you gave me the most thoughtful birthday gift ever. Can you tell me what it is?"_

_Natsume hit the girl over the head and said, "It's a surprise, idiot. Anyway, who said I gave you a gift?"_

_"But you said it was a surprise, so that must mean Onii-chan gave me a gift, right?" the little girl asked with her big, crimson eyes._

_Natsume rolled his eyes. "You're really annoying, Aoi," Natsume said and crossed his arms._

_"I can't wait to open Onii-chan's present!" Aoi yelled and started jumping in her seat which was on the couch. "I believe Okaa-san and Otou-san when they said it was the most thoughtful gift. So I can't wait! I want to say thanks, Onii-chan. You gave me a birthday gift even when you didn't have to."_

_Natsume looked at her; she was beyond excited. "Don't get too excited, otherwise I'll take away that gift," Natsume said._

_"Aw! Onii-chan can be so mean!" Aoi whined and stuck her bottom lip out to make a pout. Her eyes started twinkling at him and sniffed like she was crying._

_Natsume just stared; was there anything to be said? "Don't think you look cute when you pout," Natsume said and flicked his index finger at her forehead. Aoi felt the hit and put her two hands on her forehead to rub the small amount of pain._

_"Do you know why Otou-san and Okaa-san told us to stay in the living room?" Aoi asked and looked around to see if there was any sign of their parents._

_"Yes, now be quiet," Natsume said and closed his eyes; hoping to find peace but found none when Aoi kept poking him the head. "Stop poking me."_

_"It's my birthday and I want you to stop being moody," Aoi said. "It's my birthday wish!" Aoi smiled and stopped poking him in the head; much to Natsume's relief._

_"I thought you weren't supposed to tell your wish otherwise it won't come true," Natsume said and caught Aoi's hand that was about to smack him; although he knew it was going to be hilariously weak. But he rather just skip the weak, little smack then take it._

_Aoi huffed, crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks. "Well... yeah, but it's depending on you and there's nothing for you to be moody about," Aoi said and started pouting again, making Natsume roll his crimson eyes at her._

_"YukiAoi, Natsume! Come out here!" a deep voice yelled from the backyard. The two heard their names and obeyed the voice by walking outside, finding their parents with a smile on their face. Aoi gasped in surprise, seeing the party decorations and a huge frosted cake on a picnic table._

_"Happy birthday, YukiAoi!" the parents cheered making Aoi smile from ear-to-ear. Aoi turned to see Natsume if he had a smile on his face, but no, he still had that emotionless look. But there was a gleam in his eye when he saw Aoi so happy; it went unnoticed to Aoi._

_"Happy birthday to you," the parents sang. "Happy birthday to you, happy dear YukiAoi--"_

_Sirens were going off all over the village and rushing people started running out their house. An officer barged into the Hyuugas' backyard and told them to follow him, which they did. Aoi left her cake and gifts there, but Natsume took the birthday gift he was going to give her._

_Natsume figured it was the worse birthday part she ever had in her four years of life._

_**Present; Hoopu Hospital**_

Mikan knocked on Aoi's door and unlocked it; she didn't want to disturb Aoi, not that she did anything. She entered the room and closed the door behind her, locking it while she was at it. Even if the patient made no move, the nurse always had to lock the door.

"Good afternoon, Aoi-chan," Mikan said, taking a cushioned chair and placing it by Aoi's bed. "How are you feeling today?" Mikan propped her clipboard up and was ready to jott anything down. But no response came; not even a movement.

Mikan placed her palm on Aoi's forehead to see if she was hot or cold. The brunette found out that the young Aoi was unusually colder today. Mikan checked the little girl's temperature and saw it at forty-two degrees, occasionally go up and down again.

"Your fever is worse today," Mikan whispered and jotted the information on the paper that was attached to the clipboard. She glanced over at the medicine she laid down yesterday and saw it untouched. "You didn't even take your medicine."

Mikan was not allowed to force it down her throat because it might go to Aoi's breathing tube. Aoi refused anything that went in or went anywhere near her mouth. Nurses have been worrying over this girl, thinking she may not survive another day.

Aoi had an unrecognized disease and carried it for numerous of years. She's only sixteen and looks like she has only skin and bones. Her face was pale and her breaths were shallow; sometimes sweat would roll from her forehead down to her chin and she'll steal some heavy breaths.

She'll show that's she in deep pain by closing her eyes tightly, taking shallow breaths like she was panting and clutch hard onto the white sheets. When nurses see this happening, they would have a special medicine and place into the girl's IV, causing her to calm down. It was a sleeping medicine and it'll take four to six hours until Aoi wakes up again. But nurses would have to check if she was still alive or not; they didn't want anything bad to happen.

"Aoi-chan, if you want to talk about something, you can go right ahead," Mikan said softly. Then she saw something different; no other nurse witnessed it. Aoi glanced at Mikan with her eyes and looked back at the ceiling. That has to count as a change!

Mikan jotted the small change and prayed silently that Aoi may speak or even take her medicine today. Just thinking about Aoi glancing at her made her excited but she has to remember they all can't change too fast. It takes time.

She should know that; she already conversed with other stubborn patients, like Kokoroyomi. Although he changed a lot quicker than the other patients she had in the past. She was shocked because he was the most violent one. But after hearing a few words from Sumire earlier, it looks like Kokoroyomi lost his tag in being the most violent.

Whoever that new patient, she was still not looking forward to. _Throwing furniture?!_You can't be serious. Kokoroyomi didn't go _that_ far. He only shoved furniture at people and threatened them with a couple of words. Or threatened them with a couple of _unsaid _words.

"Do you have any siblings, Aoi-chan?" Mikan asked and looked up from her clipboard. She studied the girl with a dazed expression. It was stayed quiet for a moment.

"Onii-chan..." Aoi whispered and shut her eyes. She started clutching onto the blankets and began breathing in shallow breaths. Mikan knew what to do in this situation and jumped from her seats to get in the cabinets that belonged in Aoi's room. She searched for medicine and found them after she heard Aoi coughing.

Mikan placed the medicine into the girl's IV and saw a line of blood dripping from the side of Aoi's mouth. Some blood was on the white bed sheets; this was certainly a change in Aoi's life. Glancing at Mikan, saying 'Onii-chan' and then coughing up blood.

Mikan sighed and placed Aoi's hand on the side, taking the medicine carriage with her and placing it back into the cabinets. Mikan walked to her clipboard and wrote the change in Aoi's behavior on the paper. She glanced at Aoi to see her sleeping peacefully. Mikan placed the clipboard to her side and walked over to Aoi. She pulled out the girl's arm and checked her pulse; still breathing.

With that all experienced, Mikan walked to the door and unlocked it. She exited the room and entered the hallways, locking the door after she closed it. She started heading towards the main office, ready to drop off the information.

_"Onii-chan..."_So Aoi had an older brother? Something must have happened if that disease attacked her again right after saying calling him. Mikan felt so guilty... so sad... Aoi was like this at the age of sixteen and she has been there for three years. It must have been hard for the little girl.

Salty tears rolled down Mikan's cheeks one-by-one. She sniffed her mucus and quietly walked down the halls; making sure her bangs were covering her crying brown eyes. Her long, loose brunette hair swayed every step she took. Her fingers clenched harder on clipboard, trying not bawl in the middle of the hallways.

Mikan gulped all the lumps that were caught in throat and gulped the ones that tried to clog her breathing tube. She heard a voice that made her look up, "Ah, Mikan-chan, why so low? That's unusual of you." The young brunette saw a shoulder-length, blonde haired man with purple eyes and a giddy smile. She arrived at the main office without her noticing.

"Good afternoon, Narumi-sensei," Mikan said and sniffed again. She silently handed Narumi the information about Aoi but Narumi seemed more concern with Mikan. Her eyes were swollen and red and her slightly tinted pink cheeks were stained with tears. Something was up but he didn't know what.

Narumi took the clipboard from Mikan and tilted his head in a questioning matter. "What's wrong, Mikan-chan?" he asked politely. "Did you receive another nasty insult from Kokoro-kun? Whatever he said, you know it's not true."

Mikan shook her head indicating it was a 'no.' She rubbed her teary eyes and wiped her cheek from any stains. "It's not that sensei," Mikan said softly. "I was just thinking what Aoi-chan has been going through. She's been suffering from an unrecognized disease for three years. Do you know how hard that must be?"

The man put a palm to his chin and tapped his lips with his index finger, his purple eyes staring at the ceiling. "It is hard suffering from a disease for three years without knowing the cure since the doctors don't know what it is," Narumi said. "But for now, we have to hope for the best."

"And what's the best?" Mikan asked her eyes still looking sorrowful. The brim of her bottom eyelids were watering once again, still reminiscing about Aoi's past and the times she spent with the young girl.

Narumi tapped his chin and answered, "The best is that we'll find a cure but not through a mistake."

Mikan nodded in understanding and agreement. She prayed silently that they will find a cure for Aoi and whatever it may be, Mikan would surely take it. Because it was that lost and lonely look in Aoi's eyes that made Mikan want to do something.

She knew she couldn't change anyone, but she figured she can help change them with a smile on her face. It was decision she made years ago; help people and stay happy forever. She always wanted everyone happy even when they went through the thickest times.

"Ah, yes, Mikan-chan," Narumi called. Mikan looked at him patiently. "Tomorrow, we'll have a new nurse. You can be her guide. Be here at eight-fifteen in the morning. I was also going to assign you to see another patient, but seeing you in this condition, I think it can wait till tomorrow."

Mikan nodded and heard Narumi say one more thing, "You can have the rest of the day off. I don't want you to cry anymore."

"But sensei!" Mikan exclaimed. "I can still do my job! And I wasn't crying!" Mikan gave out a cheeky grin and stretched her arms out. "See?"

Narumi started to chuckle and waved his hand at Mikan. "Ah, Mikan-chan, you don't have to worry about anything here," Narumi said. "Just go relax at home."

"I refuse!!" Mikan yelled. Yes, she _yelled _at Narumi. She then realized her sudden outburst and quickly apologized. "I'm sorry Narumi-sensei, but just let me stay and work... So who's my next patient?"

Narumi looked through some files and brought out one file that was a lot thinner than the others. "Here, it's Youichi Hijiri," Narumi informed. "No nurse has seen him for a couple of days. They say he's a lot more scarier than he looks."

Mikan looked confused and grabbed the file from Narumi, studying the information about the boy. "He's ten years old and he's scary?" Mikan questioned and continued to study the information within the small file.

"The nurses implied it, but maybe you'll see him in a different way," Narumi said. "Maybe he'll be more cooperative because he hasn't had company for a couple of days. Good luck, Mikan-chan."

Mikan nodded and headed towards Room 134, Youichi's room. She had absolute confidence that she'll get something from Youichi. With a clipboard by her side, she strutted towards Youichi's room, ignoring the people around her.

Sumire then came running up to her, frustrated and annoyed. "That Koko!" she yelled. "He's been irritating me all day! Sakura!" Sumire poked Mikan's shoulder, catching her attention. "_You_said Koko liked Anna but he said he _didn't_!"

Mikan quirked an eyebrow. She was certain that Kokoroyomi liked Anna; there's no way he doesn't! He was looking at the pink-haired girl for hours, but now Sumire's saying he _doesn't_! That makes no flippin' raccoon sense!

A quiet sighed escaped Mikan's parted lips and said, "Did he show any reaction when you said he liked Anna-chan?"

Sumire narrowed her eyes at her and yelled, "No! Not even a twinge of pink was on his face! No stuttering, no nothing!!" Sumire threw her arms in the air, as if she was saying she had enough. "How did you find out that Koko liked her? Huh??"

Sumire leaned closer and closer to Mikan, steam coming from her ears. Mikan bent her back to lower herself and replied, "I said I found him staring at her yesterday, but I think he's lying."

"To who? You or me?" Sumire asked and placed her hands on her hips. "'Cause I swear to God, if he lied to me, I'm going to kill the twerp tomorrow."

Mikan shrugged and said, "Maybe tomorrow we'll find out. It took us a while for him to open up to us. I don't think he'll open up _that_much to us just yet." Mikan sent out a soft smile. "We'll see..."

"So, how was Aoi?" Sumire asked. She walked to the wall and leaned her body against it. "Did she still send off that lost and lonely dazed look?"

Mikan turned her head quickly and replied, "She said, 'Onii-chan' and glanced at me."

"She had an older brother?" Sumire asked and her eyes widened. "And she glanced at you?"

Mikan nodded and said, "Her eyes looked so sad. Something bad must have happened to her older brother. Maybe she'll tell me tomorrow."

"If you get to see her tomorrow," Sumire said doubtingly.

"I will!" Mikan exclaimed, her fist raised in the air. "I'll even talk to Narumi-sensei if I'm not assigned to see her tomorrow!"

Sumire shrugged her shoulders at Mikan and turned away. "Whatever you say, Sakura," with that, Sumire walked the other direction without another peep or glance. Mikan took her leave, ignoring the doubts Sumire has been throwing recently. She must be depressed or something...

Mikan hitched her clipboard closer to her chest and marched along to Youichi's room. She lost some time with him because she was _rudely_interrupted by Sumire but she threw that thought away and continued her way without a care in the world.

_"Onii-chan..." _Mikan remembered Aoi's word. It still stung her heart to see such an innocent girl to be hurting in such a harsh way. Mikan sighed quietly and whispered, "I hope everything goes okay with Aoi-chan. I know we'll see her better. I just know it."

* * *

**A/N: **Why do all my stories seem rushed?! I ought smack myself for doing things like this... I mean, the stories I used to write _way _back weren't rushed. Actually, they were a bit too detailed that it was boring. I guess I was telling myself to make it not so detailed that I made it rushed.

Now I should tell myself to make it boring. As in, make it long and detailed.

Pfft! This chapter wasn't as long as I wanted to be. OK, enough ranting... I hope you enjoyed this story and I'll get Natsume in the next chapter. I promise. Smack me if you don't see him in the next chapter. Yes, smack me with a _metal bat_. --Not now, I didn't do anything wrong. D8

- Etsuko O. Daikama


	2. Sunny Yellow: Happy and Excited

**Title: **Colorful Flaws  
**Author: **Etsuko O. Daikama

**Rating: **T  
**Category: **Romance/Drama  
**Pairing(s): **(Mostly) NxM

**Disclaimer: **The day I become a chimera (which would be a milestone in my life) I still would not own Gakuen Alice. Dang it, I'll have goat hands then.  
**Summary: **Natsume has amnesia and got sent to a mentally-ill hospital. The nurses try to get him to speak about his past, but how can he remember when he had amnesia? But they sent Mikan to get answers from him. Will she succeed or die like the other nurses that were appointed to him? NxM

**Notes: **OCCness may be presented

* * *

_Sunny Yellow: Happy and Excited_

_Tap--tap--tap_... gosh, hearing the girl tap on the window was annoying. Natsume coughed silently and refused to look at the girl who was tapping on the window. Maybe she heard the news from Sumire and decided to stay careful. The girl scratched her head through her purple hair, frustrated. _It's just a patient, he can't be that deadly._

With that thought, she went to the door and unlocked it, pushing through to feel it push back against her. _What on earth?! _She tried shoving it back, but the door was trying to close for some odd reason. _Open, you stupid door! _She pressed her shoulder against the door and started banging it with her shoulder over and over.

"Natsume-kun, I'm your nurse today!" she exclaimed. "Nurse Wakako Usami!" She continued to shove the door open with her shoulder but in vain. Getting tired, she walked to the window that was placed there to see inside the rooms. She peeked in the room and saw no boy unlike earlier.

Fire passed by the window and freaked the nurse out, making her jump backwards a little. Natsume walked up to the window with his crimson eyes glaring, then pointing his finger towards her. Wakako pointed at herself and looked confusingly at the boy in front of her.

Wakako smelt something burning and she felt her head going hot. She then realized; her hair was on fire. She started screeching and tried patting her head; hoping to extinguish the fire. But every time she patted her head, the fire kept getting bigger. The fire then slowly caught onto the arms of her white jacket. Tears were now flowing down her cheeks and she started running to the main office; just wanting to get away.

Natsume was relieved that the purple-haired girl left him. The girl who came in earlier was just as annoying too and she actually got hit by furniture. Yet, he didn't care; he just wanted to be left alone without anyone disturbing his peace.

If he had any peace.

He watched the hallways; since there was nothing else to do. He started hearing a clank of the heels and saw a body moving down the hallway. It was another female; does this hospital have any doctors?!

The girl noticed Natsume staring blankly out the window. She smiled at him and waved, then continued walking down _Youichi Higiri's _room. Natsume glared at Mikan's retreating figure and tried to set her on fire. But nothing happened. It was weird...

So he waited for another unlucky loser--I mean, nurse or _doctor_ (if they had any). But he rather not have anybody come down the hallway and bother him; the nurses who were assigned to him were already enough.

Mikan continued walking with a cheerful smile on her face, nurses who passed her returned the gesture with their own unique smile and continued their job. Whenever Mikan saw a patient staring out their window, she would wave at them and send a smile to them.

None of them returned the gesture.

But that didn't pull her down, she just continued the gesture anyway. _Just be who you are and stay happy._That was Mikan's motto that brought her everyday confidence. And her daily decision: _Wake up and be happy or wake up and be a grump like when Sumire is found when she gets to work._She chose to be happy (no one wants to be a Sumire-grump, as Kokoroyomi would say).

Mikan turned a corner and saw Yura Otonashi, watching outside of a patient room, looking through the wide window. Mikan tip-toed down the hallway so she won't get noticed but no one gets passed by Yura without her noticing. "You're late for your appointment with Youichi-kun, Sakura," Yura said with her back still facing the brunette.

"Yeah, I know," Mikan said and chuckled nervously; she started scratching the back of head sheepishly. "But how do you know about every appointment I have even when they're last minute?"

"That's a secret," Yura said over her shoulder and started walking away from the patient room and away from Mikan. Yura was always a mystery to Mikan but the brunette shrugged it off and walked over to Youichi's door.

She first knocked on the door and unlocked it, opening it to get inside afterwards. She locked the behind her once she closed it and turned to Youichi who was growling. "Good afternoon, You-chan," Mikan said with a smile. "How are you today?"

"Get away, ugly hag," Youichi spat and started glaring at the girl with his teal eyes.

Mikan sighed and walked to a cushioned chair, placing her butt there and putting her clipboard on her lap. She clicked the top of her pen, ready to jot any information that was given by Youichi. "Have you started puberty?" Mikan asked, still staring at her clipboard.

Youichi blinked at her blankly. He replied, "What kind of question is that?" He shortly sneezed afterwards and rubbed his nose to prevent another sneeze. His sneezes come in two.

Mikan leaned back in the chair and stared at the ceiling. She looked like she was thinking. "Have you developed any romantic feelings for a girl?" Mikan asked and tapped her pen against her chin.

Quirking an eyebrow, he stared at her in complete silence. Before Mikan can jot anything down (she was taking the silence as a 'yes'), Youichi spoke up, "I don't know what lingers in your mind, nor do I _want _to, but it's the sickest mind I have ever seen since I got here."

Mikan then jotted down the information and said aloud, "Still hate girls." Youichi rolled his eyes at the information and laid back down in his bed that has been recently given to him. He crossed his arms then closing his eyes; just wanting to leave already.

"You're an orphan," Mikan said. No, that wasn't a interrogative, it was indeed a declamatory. Youichi's opened his eyes again, welcoming the scene of the white ceiling. He turned his head to her and stared at her with his blank, teal eyes.

"Did you just realize that?" Youichi asked and quirked a brow. He started to drum his fingers against the exposed skin that was on his arm and waited for the girl to answer his question. Not like he was eager or anything.

Mikan opened her mouth to reply, but no words came out. She was sitting, looking like a gaping fish or what Youichi thought. "Would you like to talk about what happened that made you turn into an orphan?" Mikan finally asked.

Youichi narrowed his eyes and the drumming of his fingers stopped. He replied sharply, "No." He turned his head back to the ceiling, not wanting to talk to the girl anymore. Mikan figured that would happen; most the patients were stubborn here.

Mikan sighed and placed her elbow on her lap; her chin in her palm. She then saw something red on Youichi's arm. It was a thin line of the color red and she squinted her eyes to see it right. Sure enough, she found out it was _blood._

She stood from the chair and walked over to Youichi's bed, grabbing his arm after reaching him. He turned his head to her and gave her a sharp glare. Mikan examined Youichi's arm and saw scars all over it. She placed her hand to his sleeve and pulled it up, seeing a new cut. He started staring at his arm with an impassive face.

"Have you been cutting yourself recently?" Mikan asked, shocked. This boy is _ten. __Ten__._ She gently placed her fingers on his arm and softly traced the recent cut that was still bleeding. "What were you using to cut yourself?"

Youichi looked back at Mikan and replied, "Nothing."

That was obviously a lie. The cut was still bleeding and he's saying he _didn't _use anything to cut himself? Mikan pulled Youichi closer to her; her eyebrows were in a perfect 'V' shape. She asked, "You're a cutter and have a bleeding cut right now, and you're saying you didn't use anything?"

"Do you think I'm lying?" Youichi asked and quirked a brow at her. He pulled his arm out of her grasp without taking his gaze off her.

Mikan placed her hands on her hips and leaned her upper body forward. "I'm sorry if it seems like I don't trust you, but," Mikan paused and swallowed the lump in her throat, "--but I'm going to have to get on your case to see if you're doing anything wrong."

"And what's 'wrong?'" Youichi asked.

"To you, what's wrong is cutting yourself," Mikan answered hastily. "Do you not see what you're doing to yourself? Do you care about your body or anything?"

"What does my body have to do with this?" Youichi asked. "It's only my arms."

"And your arms have veins," Mikan said. "If you cut them, you're going to kill yourself."

Youichi seemed to shockingly... burst, "What happens to me is none of your concern! It's my life and I'll spend it the way I want to spend it!"

Aw--_slap!_Mikan slapped Youichi across the face, trying to find an entrance that will open him to take wisdom. Yes, maybe Mikan's not the smartest person around, but right now, some common sense will do. "I understand that it's your life, but... do you honestly think that you were born for _nothing_?!" Mikan yelled at him and took him by the shoulders; gaining his full attention. "Quit sulking about your life and go help someone else's!"

Youichi narrowed his eyes then dark spirits started popping out of nowhere. Mikan backed away when she saw the things float in the air it soon started coming after her. She grabbed her clipboard and made a dash for it.

_"You have no idea what it's like..."_

But Mikan never heard the young boy, she was too busy running from the ghosts to even notice. Actually, she was too busy running to even notice that there _weren't _any ghosts chasing her. When she looked back, she saw nothing but the hallways. Boy, she made a fool out of herself.

--Wait a minute, rewind! What did Narumi say when he was giving Mikan the file about Youichi? He said that nurses were scared of the ten years old boy! Mikan smacked herself in the forehead for realizing that at the last minute; she wanted to get along with him, not run away because she was scared of ghosts.

Mikan hoisted her clipboard and walked to the main office; mission failed. She glanced at her watch and saw it was six-seventeen at night. Her shift was almost done; she had thirteen minutes to spare. But instead of walking back to Youichi and give him another small lecture, her feet took her somewhere else.

She seemed like she was hypnotized or something, because she had a dazed look on her face and walked to who-knows-where. She walked down the never-ending hallways and never gave anyone a smile, which surprised some and others were too busy to even care.

A scream was heard down the hallway and it caught Mikan's attention, making her run towards the one who was in danger or hurt. She gripped onto her clipboard with every step she took and saw a girl with the back of her white jacket covered in _blue_ flames.

"Someone, help me!!" the girl screamed. She was waving her arms in the air, not helping take the fire out.

"Yuri-sempai!" Mikan said and started chasing her, glancing at the walls to find any fire extinguisher. But no luck, there was none on the walls; that should be reported to Narumi later on. "Stop, Yuri-san, you're not going to help extinguish it if you keep running!"

"Someone!" Yuri screamed once more before salty tears started flow down her pale cheeks. "Just hel-" She was interrupted when white foam hit her whole body.

"Miyado-san, please stay quiet," a soft yet stoic voice said, carrying a fire extinguisher with her.

"Yura-chan!" Mikan exclaimed when she saw her. "How do you know that Yuri-sempai was in trouble?"

"She was loud," Yura replied. "Almost as loud as you when you get free ice-cream with some best friend of yours. You just gleam in happiness." Yura rolled her eyes while she was saying her last statement. She bowed elegantly. "Excuse me, I have other business to attend to."

With that, the dirty-blond haired girl walked away with the fire extinguisher still in her hands. Yuri felt through her hair and realization struck her. "My hair is short again," Yuri huffed. "It took me years to grow it back out again." She stomped away while Mikan watched her retreating back.

Some thing's up because a few nurses have been threatened and a few have been caught on fire. Whatever is happening, Mikan was sure she was going to find out. Mikan started walking to the place where her feet were taking her; the main office.

But while walking to the main office, she entered the hallway where patient Aoi was at. Mikan walked up to her room and peeked through the glass; she was still sound asleep. But only one tear slid down Aoi's pale cheeks.

Oddly, Mikan felt guilt when she witnessed Aoi cry a tear. She didn't do anything; she just helped earlier. But that didn't take away the guilt, no matter how much she assures herself--the guilt just won't go away.

Mikan wiped her eyes before any tears came out and started walking to the main office. Her fingers felt a little weak while holding the clipboard and she was about to drop it before she hitched it against her hip again. She shook off her sorrowful thoughts and threw her chin up in the air; nothing will bring her down.

_Nothing._

She slumped her shoulders and her thoughts weren't... "reassuring." _Geez, guilt doesn't go away that fast._ With every step she took, her arms would swing like they were dead or disarmed.

"Looks like your shift is over, Mikan-chan," Narumi said behind the main office desk. "Remember, the appointment in the morning. You'll be her guide." Narumi took the clipboard away from her and started reading Youichi's information. Nothing seemed to change; it was slightly unsatisfying to Narumi, but he'll have to take it.

"See you tomorrow," Narumi said and waved.

Mikan nodded and waved back, "See you."

The brunette dragged her feet out of Hoopu Hospital and into the parking lot where her old, jacked up but still working vehcile was at. It was painted a metallic teal color instead of metallic black, the way she wanted it. But she was graduating high school soon and she had only a small amount of money, thus leading us to the jacked up vehcile.

She unlocked her car but heard a squealing sound--fine, a squealing _voice_. "Sakura!" and that squealing voice happens to be--

"Permy?" Mikan questioningly whispered and stared at the girl who was running towards her.

"Sakura," Sumire panted when she reached Mikan. "Do you want to go out for a drink? This hospital is tiring and frustrating."

Mikan quirked a brow at her and replied, "Permy, you may be eighteen, but I'm still seventeen. I can't drink."

Sumire 'pffted' Mikan and rolled her eyes. "Puh-lease, Sakura. I did this when I was younger and I never got in trouble," she said and crossed her arms over her chest.

"..." It was obvious that Mikan was currently speechless. Her mom said that drinking alcohol could screw someone's life up, just like smoking cigarettes. Maybe that was the reason why Sumire's life seemed so... wrecked. The seaweed-like haired girl was always frustrated and she hardly laughed.

The invitation didn't seem so... "inviting" anymore--it never did in the first place.

Sumire was waiting patiently for Mikan's answer and started tapping her heels. The young brunette looked like a gaping fish with her index finger in the air. It looked like she was going to state something smart but was stuck on her words.

Already struck annoyed, Sumire grabbed onto Mikan's wrist and pulled her towards Sumire's own car. What can I say about her car?

Well, it was anything that wasn't like Mikan's car, that's for sure.

The car looked like it was just bought. The silver rims of her tire wheels were shining brightly and her black tire wheels were fully pumped. Sumire's car was an SUV that was painted black and you can perfectly see your reflection against the door everything.

Mikan was shoved into the passenger seat by Sumire. The seat was colored light gray and it was _real _leather. She unconsciously sniffed the air--it even had the new car smell! Sumire entered the driver's seat and started the engine.

"Like it?" Sumire asked. She backed the car out of the parking spot and started to drive to some random bar. "I got it yesterday from my parents as a gift because I graduated high school two weeks ago."

"If you graduated high school two weeks ago, then why did you get your car yesterday?" Mikan asked.

Sumire sighed with the roll of the eyes. "Didn't I tell you this story over a million of times?" she asked and looked at Mikan in the corner of her green eyes. "My parents aren't always home; they're mostly at their job, like we are."

"I'm not always here," Mikan protested. "I only work on the weekends and weekdays' evenings because I still have high school."

"Do you still go to that old, cruddy school?" Sumire asked stopping at a red light. "What was it called...? Aly Academy? Ice Academy? Arse Academy-?"

"Alice Academy," Mikan corrected.

Sumire rolled her eyes and drove again when the red light turned green. "Whatever," she said. "That school got sued when I left because of the poor food."

"It's school," Mikan coughed. "We're there for education reasons not food."

The green haired girl quirked an eyebrow but her eyes remained on the road. "That's not what you said a couple of months ago," she said. "'Bleh! This food tastes awful! We should sue this school!' is what you said actually. And that's how I came up with the idea of suing the school."

"I wasn't being literal!" Mikan yelled. "Now we _don't_ have any food!"

"Who's 'we?'" Sumire asked and turned a corner, which happened to lead to a one-way street.

"All the students in Alice Academy," Mikan answered. "They're all starving in there!"

"Four words: Bring. Lunch. To. School. It's not hard," Sumire said. "I know your mother died a few years ago, but just go ask someone to lend you some money."

Mikan's Jii-chanwas always filled with wisdom and lectures. One of them were: do not take money from strangers. They were quite hard to forget; I bet Jii-chan made them hard to forget on purpose. "I don't want to ask someone if I can have money," Mikan said.

"Fine, do what you always do," Sumire honked a car that was being slow, "Pig out at the Hoopu's cafeteria everday because they give free food."

Mikan rolled her eyes and looked out the window. She slouched in her seat and the whole car was quiet. The only noise that was made was the constant honking from Sumire. She can be dearly impatient and can be easily annoyed.

Sumire mumbled a few words about 'slow-pokes' and 'crazy drivers.' She floored the car and started driving what Mikan would say, _"Like a maniac."_Mikan clutched onto the seat and prayed silently that she won't die.

"The bar isn't always open!" Sumire yelled. "And I want a good table!"

Mikan took in slow, small breaths to calm herself down. This isn't the first time she rode with a crazy driver. She kept clutching onto the leather seat and she was just frozen with her wide, chocolate eyes. She watched everyone zoom by fast through the front window.

Some people were honking at the crazy driver and it got Mikan wondering if Sumire did have her driver's license. Sumire almost hit two cars in back and slid beside five cars, scratching their paint job. Yet, the seaweed-haired girl didn't give a care about it. She was too absorbed with that bar. What's so great about it anyway?

"There it is!" Sumire shouted and drove speedily into the bar's parking lot. Mikan read the sign: Crank Mai's Bar. What a weird title...

Once Sumire found a parking spot (it was a wonderful relief to Mikan), she jumped out of the car--not caring if it got damaged in any way--and ran into the bar. Mikan silently got out of the car and observed the car. There were a few dents and scratches here and there, but Mikan walked it off by entering the weird-titled bar.

The bar looked slightly coozy-looking. It seemed more like a coffee shop instead of a bar. The lights were dimmed and people talked quietly as if they were whispering. Mikan scanned the entire building and saw Sumire sitting at a table that was near a small stage.

With nothing to do, Mikan walked over to Sumire's table and sat there. Sumire was practically jumping in her seat with her eyes focused on the stage. "Permy," Mikan said. No response. "_Permy..._"

Mikan started poking Sumire on the side of the girl's head and Sumire slightly tilted over everytime Mikan poked her. Mikan put her mouth close enough to Sumire's ear and screeched, "Permy!!" That woke Sumire up.

Sumire jumped a little and swung her head to look at Mikan. On Sumire's face was an _evil_ scowl that could cause her a few wrinkles to her skin in when she's very much older. "_What?_" Sumire spat.

"You're really happy and excited, what's up?" Mikan asked and leaned closer to Sumire.

The sound of footsteps entered in Mikan's ears and looked at the small stage. There she saw was a sunny yellow-haired fellow with a guitar in his hand and a microphone in front of his mouth. He pulled out a black stool and sat on it and began tuning his guitar.

Mikan looked back at Sumire and quirked a brow. She knew Sumire was a sucker for guys like these.

The blond fellow strummed a few guitar strings and tuned it once again, strumming the string afterwards. Once he found the right key, the boy tapped on the microphone to see if it was working. "Hi, I'm Ruka Nogi," he said. "I'm going to play a few songs tonight."

People who were in the bar clapped while Sumire screamed at the top of her lungs. Ruka chuckled, "Looks like my loyal fan is here."

"Ruka-kun!!" Sumire screamed. "I love you!!"

Ruka started strum his guitar strings and started to sing into the microphone. His voice was gentle and enchanting. The people there came mostly for Ruka because his voice amazingly reduced stress to them.

Yes, even the big, bulky men. Ruka's voice has an effect on them, too.

Mikan's eyes widened when her ears heard the soft, delicate voice that came from the boy's mouth.

_Can you hear me?  
__Does anyone around me,  
__Feel the way that I feel now?  
__Cause from the window where I sometimes cry  
__I just want to see Your face tonight  
__And I'm willing to lose everything that I am  
_

_Cause I need you more than ever  
__I need Your help to find where I've been going wrong so far_

Sumire was on the edge of her seat with small hearts in her eyes (metaphorically speaking). But Mikan, she was amazed. She expected something a lot harder or something _dark_. But the song was so soothing to her ears that she started relax at an intimidating place.

_Take me under Your wing tonight  
__Make me so perfect in Your eyes  
__Hold on cause it will be alright  
__You're not alone_

Everyone's attention was on that young boy and on their face was a relaxed and calm exterior. Mikan leaned towards Sumire to ask a small question but got shoved to the ground without Sumire looking at her; it was like Sumire was predicting that all along.

Mikan was slowly getting up from the ground and that's when she realized; everyone was staring at her. She blinked in confusion and saw a hand reach down near her face. Half of Mikan was expecting Sumire to do that and the other half couldn't even believe that.

The brunette looked up to see that sunny-yellow blond haired boy reaching down with a worried expression on his handsome face. "Are you OK?" he asked.

Mikan nodded silently and hesistated to take his hand; Sumire was watching. But alas, she took his hand anyway and got back up to her feet. "Want a drink?" Ruka asked. "It's on me."

"S-Sure," Mikan replied and gulped down her nervousness that was clumped in her throat.

Before Ruka move to the stand, he went back up to stage and announced, "Sorry, folks. Just the beginning of a song tonight." The people groaned in disappointment and started chugging their beer down to try to drown their frustration.

Ruka walked to the stand with Mikan by his side and sat down on a stool. Mikan sat down on his right and then Sumire came up and sat down on his left. She giggled and fiddled with her curly tips. "I'll have one cup of vodka," Sumire said to the bartender.

The bartender nodded and looked over at Ruka and Mikan. "I'll have a bottle of beer and..." Ruka looked over to Mikan.

"Water, just water," Mikan said. The bartender nodded and started working on their drinks. "Thank you... um..."

"Ruka Nogi," Ruka answered. "Your name?"

"Mikan Sakura," Mikan said. "Thank you for the drink. It's really polite of you."

"No problem, but I've never seen you around here. New?"

"Um, no. Today, my friend, Sumire invited me here."

Ruka nodded; the bartender came and dropped the three drinks and started cleaning some dishes. "So this is all new?" Ruka asked.

Mikan nodded and then Ruka spoke once again, "I bet you're intimidated by the men around here. Don't be. They're like soft teddy bears." Mikan looked confused and... well, let's say she had a stupid experssion on. She looked around the room and saw the bulky men. No way... _Soft teddy bears?_

"Where do you work at?" Ruka asked.

"I'm a nurse at Hoopu Hospital," Mikan answered. "I like working there because I can make new friends."

That's when Sumire piped in, "But there's a new patient that's hard to work with. Sakura hasn't seen him yet, but she's in for it when she does."

Ruka turned to Sumire and quirked an eyebrow. "How is he hard to work with?"

"He throws furniture at people and I think he has a lighter or something because his hand started to have fire on it!" Sumire exclaimed. "It was so scary because he had this murderous aura around him that could kill."

Mikan whispered in Ruka's ear, "I think she's exaggerating or something. Or maybe one drink for her is too much."

"Don't act like I didn't hear that," Sumire said and slammed her hands on the counter. "And I'm not exaggerating--it's the dang truth. If you can't believe it, why don't you see him for yourself?"

"I would but--" Mikan quickly got interrupted by Sumire. "But what? Chickening out, Sakura?"

Mikan narrowed her eyes and got off her stool, slamming her hands to her hips. "No, I'm not," Mikan said. "In fact, tomorrow, I will meet him. I'm going to prove to you that you were just exaggerating. I bet this is some joke you made up just to scare me."

"Scare you?" Sumire questioned and then started laughing. "Please, that's Koko's job. He does it so effortlessly just to scare _you_."

Ruka twirled around his seat and watched the little catfight. "At least I'm not getting humiliated in front of everyone and become the laughing stock," Mikan retorted.

The laughter that emitting from Sumire's lips suddenly stopped and her lips twitched once. It was her turn now to narrow her eyes; a frown pasted itself on her face. "Let's make a deal, Sakura," Sumire announced. "If you check the new patient out and come out without getting hurt or a little bit burnt, I'll do the chicken dance with a chicken suit on in front of everyone at lunch time."

"What happens if I _do _get hurt?" Mikan asked.

Sumire smirked evilly and answered, "I'll hurt you more by making you _my slave_."

Mikan's eyes widened and stared at Sumire, shocked. Sumire was/is a _needy_person--pfft, who knows what Sumire will do to her in the morning! But she outstretched her hand towards Sumire and Sumire took it.

"Deal."

The two shook their hands and separated it. "I'm going home," Sumire announced. "See you tomorrow, Sakura."

Mikan waved good-bye to the seaweed-like haired girl and continued to sip from her glass of water. After a few minutes, she spat out her water and ran to the exit to see if Sumire was still there. Luckily, she was but she was backing up from the parking spot.

"Good luck walking home, Sakura!" Sumire yelled out of her window.

Mikan stood there dumbstruck and the car started to leave the parking lot. She started running after the black car, yelling, "Stop, Permy! I just need a ride to Hoopu Hospital!"

That was just the beginning of her bad luck.

* * *

_"Natsume!"_

_"Onii-chan!"_

Natsume was on the cold ground in his room with sweat dripping off his face. He started to grasp out for anything but could only reach nothing. He started to breathe heavy breaths and coughed out spit, turning to blood when he coughed too much.

The brim of his eyelids were starting to water but nothing fell from his eyes. He bit back the urge to cry.

Then he spoke so softly that he wasn't saying it, he was _pleading_.

"Please, don't leave."

* * *

**A/N: **I am so sorry! D8

I feel terrible for writing a late, rushed chapter. I got so hyper today and started to finish this thing off. I have plenty of GA fanfics to write and I **need**to finish this one. I'm also sorry for making Youichi a cutter! (-_covers face in shame-_) And he's only flippin' ten!

I am so sorry!! I feel so ashamed! D8 D8

I even made big, bulky seem like soft teddy bears! _Soft teddy bears! _I'm crazy in the head. (_-rubs temples-_) Aye... this came out way different. But yeah... I hope you enjoyed my crappy chapter!

I do not own "Take Me" by Hawk Nelson.

- Etsuko O. Daikama (;-;)


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